Take it One Step at a Time Part 1
by KikiKatama
Summary: Set in the distant future...there is a new threat on the rise! Join the new generation of heroes and what fate has in store for them.


p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"There are many things Haruki wishes he had not lived through. He wishes he had not experienced his grandpa's death. He still remembers the stillness of grandpa's old body, the skin turning cold under the fingers of an eight-year-old boy. Haruki wishes he had not given away his first kiss so easily: he was drunk, the girl was pretty, sixteen is a stupid age. He wishes the Proxephus mission had gone differently, he wishes he and the Adesso had been able to run faster and avoid being captured from Emperor Phorus. They had not. But he lived through all of that. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"This- emthis/em is something Haruki does not know if he will live through. This is something that, for the first time, makes him wish he had not made it through The Pit; makes him wish the Proxephus mission had really failed for pilot error or was it engine malfunction? But he lived through that, and he is living through this as well./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki's friend's pain is... is pain in its most raw form. It growls and screams. The vision sparks behind her eyelids, creates weak thrashing and sobs that are cutting through her head, through her heart. Rei's pain is the blood on Haruki's hands, so red, so bright that it almost looks fake, like they are on the set of a sci-fi movie, playing an action scene. But this is not a movie! This is the bitter reality. Earth is several light years away and Rei is in the room fighting between life and death next to the one Haruki and the other intergalactic warriors are in./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki breathes hard and closes his hands in fists, in a weak attempt to hide Rei's blood. But there is more on his armor, sticking to his skin, on the floor where they had dragged Rei, unconscious, with a deep wound to her head and a crushed leg./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Weakly, Haruki raises his head and looks at his warriors. Stella is the one closest to him, arms hugging her legs and head laying on a knee; her eyes are red and puffy, but no tears come out, her shoulders shake every so often. Kekoa is next to her as he gazes into the void, with one hand caressing Stella's hair. He is trying to give her as much comfort as she needs, just as they all need. Lucas is hunched forward with his head between his hands, palms against his eyes, but Haruki understands that he is crying as discreetly as possible. Ashling is next to him keeps her back straight, but her hands tremble in her lap. Conan is... somewhere, discussing with Logan about something Haruki is not eager to know, not with the rests of the warriors in front of him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"They all look exhausted, their faces pale and eyes distant, so fragile that a gust of wind would probably be enough to shatter them into pieces. Suddenly it hits Haruki that they were only kids of fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen-year olds when they got up there on, whose shoulders weighed the responsibility of saving the whole universe. It is a responsibility that had kept them connected for the past months, like the pieces of a weird puzzle. The puzzle has been broken more than once, and Haruki lamented that one piece is so close to go missing forever./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Why is it taking so long?" Lucas asks, voice muffled by his hands. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He sits up straight and does not even try to hide the wet lines on his cheeks, his puffy eyes. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""How many more hours are they going to make us wait? They could've just... taken her to a hospital from a nearby planet, right? Why does it sound like they're slaughtering her?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Have you seen her... her emleg/em, Lucas?" Stella talks back, and the exhaustion makes her voice rougher, meaner than she wanted it to sound. "It looked like a tractor had run over it, how are they even gonna…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I saw her leg very well, since I was the one who carried her inside with Haruki, so thank you emvery/em much for reminding me of it." Lucas muttered in a bitter voice that only causes Stella to shrink back into her place, shoulders curving forward. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm sorry." she whispers as she hugs her knees closer to her chest. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"No one answers./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Ashling straightens her back even more and clears her throat, and never has she looked more stern or stronger in front of the warriors. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Haruki." she calls, and the man tiredly raises his head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The young woman is looking at him with a sweet expression, and her voice is soft and gentle. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Could you please tell us what happened to you two? It was supposed to be a peaceful meeting, there was a deal-"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""The deal has been clearly broken." Haruki interrupts her, and Ashling flinches, surprised. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki sighs and raises a hand to his face, trying to stay awake despite everything, despite the wish to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""The chief… we had to negotiate with, he sold us out to the Tolorna. They got inside the headquarters just before we could sign the peace treaty, and then we were surrounded. You know how Rei is, she took out her bow and arrow and…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""And the Tolorna attacked." Ashling finishes for him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki nods. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We were at disadvantage, I tried to drag Rei away when I realized that we could have died, we managed to lock ourselves up in the hangar but…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki lowers his hands and closes it on his knee, now fighting back the urge to throw up in that very instant. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""One of them was there. He was onto us before we could notice, Rei was knocked against some sort of machine and it fell on her leg. I had to lift several pieces of debris in order to get her out of there. There was so much blood and she was so pale, I thought we wouldn't make it in time and…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Whoa! Whoa! Easy there buddy!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Kekoa is on him in a second, hand gently massaging his back, and Haruki did not even notice that he was hyperventilating, his breath coming quick and hard out of his mouth, his hands trembling and the urge to puke getting stronger as time passes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Is it just me or is he turning green?" he hears Lucas say, but he ignores it. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"His insides twirl another time and he feels the sour taste of bile in his mouth, someone half yells "Oh emfuck/em!" and a bin is pushed under his face as he empties the contents of his stomach, eyes bulging./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's okay buddy, it's okay" he hears Kekoa's comforting voice, his hand still on Haruki's back. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We all know Rei, don't we? She's a tough girl, once they're done with her she'll probably walk outside on her own legs and start arguing with Lucas, right buddy?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Of course!" Lucas exclaims, and a tired smile appears on his face. "I feel like she still hasn't forgiven me for taking over her airship, despite how many times she tries to hide it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki wipes his mouth and rests his elbows on his knees, taking deep breaths. Suddenly Stella stands up and scoots closer to him, pressed against his side. Lucas follows her example, and so does Ashling, and Haruki finds himself wrapped in their warmth, arms gently laying on his back, a cheek against his shoulder, a hand on his thigh. Stella raises her head a little./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It will all work out," she says weakly, hoping as she gives him a weak smile. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki closes his eyes and hopes as well./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"There is something comforting in sleep. In his dreams, Haruki never left Earth, he wasn't abducted by the Tolorna and he did not disappear for a whole year. In his dreams, Rei is not injured, her skin is warm and smooth under Haruki's hands, her kisses are hot and her hands gentle. In Haruki's dreams there is no galactic war, and it is peaceful, so very peaceful./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Then Haruki wakes up and the white light hurts his eyes, the grogginess and the aftertaste of bile in his mouth reminding him of what happened. Voices reach his ears and his head pulses uncomfortably, and Haruki squints./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We did everything we could, I'm sorry." mutters a voice, and Haruki turns his head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Ashling is talking with one of the people who took Rei in, and her face appears weary and pale as it has never been. Even from that distance, Haruki can see her hands shaking, Ashling takes a pained breath and turns around, meeting his eyes. As soon as she sees that he is awake her eyes go wide, but the pain does not go away. Instead, it taints her soft smile that barely tugs at her lips. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You're awake." she says./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki nods slightly and with gentle motions, he moves Stella's head from his thigh, trying not to wake up Lucas and Kekoa. The room moves around him for a few seconds when he stands up and he has to hold the couch to stay on his feet, but apart from that, he feels confident enough to not sit down again./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Rei?" he rasps, raising his head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The faint smile vanishes from Ashling's lips and her eyes turn dark, vulnerable. The alien next to her clears his throat and Haruki turns his head towards him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We were able to treat the wound on her head, it did not damage any part of the brain." the alien -doctor? - says. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki feels relief flood inside him, warming him up. But then the doctor sighs, and everything turns black again, worry suffocating him, death above his head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Her left leg was completely crushed; the bones had broken through the skin in various points. There was nothing we could do to fix it, we had to amputate it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Darkness. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"It swallows Haruki whole and he is falling, deep, deeper into the void, blood (Rei's blood) painting his body red, squeezing his lungs and making it difficult to breathe. Haruki feels like he might hyperventilate again and closes his eyes, ignores Ashling's worried voice that calls his name. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Haruki, are you feeling sick? Please, answer me!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki opens his eyes and the first thing he notices is that the doctor belongs to the same species as Nefok, and for a second, a wonderful, painless second, he thinks about hitting him, hitting until the blood on his hands is not Rei's, hitting until his body feels numb and all sensation is gone./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Can I see her?" he manages to ask between choked breaths, and the doctor nods. "She is still on medication, and she is not ready to talk right now. You should shower first, you are still…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He leaves the sentence hanging, but Haruki does not need him to finish to know how he looks. Broken. Tired beyond every expectation. Empty./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He cannot imagine how Rei is feeling./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki mutters a "Thank you" and reserves only a quick look to Ashling and an even quicker one to the sleeping warriors, and then he steps out of the room. The air is less stagnant there, clearer, it makes Haruki feel slightly better. He takes deep breaths and walks away, as fast as his legs can manage, he sends Conan and Logan a quick glance when he sees them, but they don't seem to acknowledge him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"When he reaches his room, it almost feels like a miracle, he closes the door behind him, and leans against it, the cold surface giving some relief to his clammy skin. He feels feverish, weak. He just wants to sleep but Rei- Rei is more important./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei, whose purple sweater is on Haruki's bed, whose bow and arrows are somewhere in the cockpit of one of the airships, forgotten in the rush. Rei, who is now alone, hurting and fragile and Haruki is not by her side./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The thought is enough to get him moving, and he quickly strips of the armor. He leaves it on the floor, uncaring for once, and walks towards the bathroom, he opens the shower faucet and walks under the stream of water without waiting for it to get warm. The cold water dissipates the fog in his head, all emotions flood away together with the blood, washing away Rei's blood: away from the eyes, away from the heart as his grandma used to say./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Grandma was a liar!/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Pain is pain, it is invisible, abstract. It will never go away. Pain is what killed his grandma after grandpa's death, pain is what kept Haruki alive during his days as a gladiator, and pain is what he saw on Rei's pale face when they brought him away to take care of him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"With heavy thoughts daunting him, he walks out of the shower and wears some clean clothes. After a moment of indecision, he takes Rei's sweater with him, instinctively bringing it to his nose for a few seconds, and takes in Rei's smell and perfume./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"When he walks back to the "waiting room", the warriors are still asleep, but the doctor is gone and Ashling is sitting on the free sofa, fidgeting with her fingers and her eyes lost somewhere in the distance. When she hears his steps approaching, she raises her head and turns toward the room behind her. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Rei woke up." she whispers, and Haruki moves closer. "I tried to talk to her, but she yelled at me. She looked…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She did not finish the sentence./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki squeezes her shoulder and hoped that the smile on his face is not a completely wrecked mask. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You should rest." he tells her, but Ashling shakes her head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""There's so much to do, meetings, the failed alliance, the Sabers…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Conan can take care of it for a day, he's already talking with Logan. You need rest, hon'. We all do."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Ashling hesitates, Haruki can see in her eyes that she wants to protest but she is too tired, and this day has already been so long. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""If anything happens, call us immediately."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She makes him promise and he does. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The doctor is in the room, checking some panels that remind Haruki of the machines he had seen at the hospital when he had visited his grandpa. His attention is fast moved to the bed, and Rei resting in the middle of it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She looks too small in that bed, the mattress and sheets devouring her body. The white of the blankets looks too bright next to Rei's blonde hair, her skin grey and sweaty. Haruki moves closer and ignores the obvious void in the lower part of the bed, ignores the space where there should be Rei's left leg and instead focuses his attention on Rei's face, on her barely open eyes that try to follow his movements, lips sealed together in a thin, pale line. Haruki seats on the mattress close to Rei's hip and with gentle fingers moves the sweaty bangs from her forehead, feeling the skin hot and burning./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""She should be okay for a while." the doctor speaks, and Haruki raises his head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The alien murmurs something in his mother tongue and then turns, walking to the door./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I shall leave you now. If her fever goes up or if anything happens, please call me immediately."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Thank you." Haruki says, and the doctor walks outside./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei makes a small sound and Haruki's attention is on her, fingers brushing against her cheek in a sweet caress. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's okay now, you're safe. You're okay." he whispers, and the lie weights unpleasantly on his tongue, leaving a sour taste behind once he talks./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei squeezes her eyes and mutters something that sounds like Haruki's name, she tries to move but she is too weak, her body refusing to respond. Haruki shushes her and presses his mouth to Rei's forehead, lips lingering there for a second. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's okay, I'm here. I'm right here, Rei."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""M... l... g…", Rei manages to wheeze, and her left hand tries to reach down, down until her fingers find the point where the blanket falls on empty space./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki witnesses the instant in which Rei's world crumbles around her, sucked inside a wormhole of darkness and despair, hears the muffled whimpers that try to leave her mouth between ragged and broken breaths, sees the way her fingers try to find something that is not there anymore./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Gone gone gone the leg is gone there's nothing there it's missing why is it missing how could it happen why did it happen what happened to my leg why is it gone why why why.../span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"A broken sob breaks through Rei's lips followed by a shriek and her eyes close, fingers trying to grab the sheets, trying to reach her face to hide her pain. Haruki holds her hand tight and gently covers her eyes with the other hand, allowing her to break down hidden from everyone's eyes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"But it is useless. Rei is too exhausted to cry, and voiceless sobs shake her chest, bringing her one step closer to the edge of madness./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The body dies a slow death, dragging itself until it is nothing but ashes and dust, when it is too late to grieve and mourn. The body dies when it is at its end, and living has become too painful, too tiresome, or maybe you can be lucky -unlucky? - and die young, burying all your missed chances and regrets. But the soul, emthat/em dies a fast death, shredding in pieces by the cold and ungrateful hands of Fate, played with and disrespected./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki has witnessed the moment Rei's soul has died, all of her fighting spirit leaving her eyes and darkness hovering over her, over her blue irises./spanspan style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;" /spanspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He wishes he could bring it back to life, wishes he owned the elixir of life to have Rei -his Rei- back./spanspan style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;" /spanspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"This, as unreal as it is, is not a movie, and what is dead remains dead./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei cannot move, and Haruki will not leave his side unless it is a life or death thing, meaning a Tolorna attack. But for once -for once- everything is quiet, still and so Haruki starts counting the days./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"It is day five when they took Rei off her medications, because apparently Dramaquiran medicine is too strong for the human body, even if that body is half-Tolorna, it is day seven when Rei's fever finally goes down, her skin still pale and grey, but cooler, less sweaty. It is day nine when the nightmares and delirium stop making her wake up at every hour and it is day eleven when the warriors finally find the strength to come visit her. While Rei sleeps, though, because they all know that she will not allow anyone but Haruki to see her in those conditions while being conscious./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Stella never talks; she just sits on the chair Ashling brought inside on day 2 and curls on herself, arms hugging her legs. Sometimes she moves the chair closer to the bed and absently traces lines and drawings on the back of Rei's hands, a soft expression on her face. Other times she just sighs and stands, taps her foot on the floor and walks outside without a word./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Lucas is quiet, well, not emquiet/em quiet but quieter than normal. He sits down on the same chair Stella used and talks about everything that passes through his mind, trying to keep Rei in track even though she is asleep, and sometimes tries to crack a joke. Then he suddenly goes serious and sighs, and his whole face turns dark and lost when he turns to Haruki and asks, /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Is she really gonna be okay?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki does not answer. He cannot./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Kekoa's visits are the fastest ones. He just comes inside with a tray of food for both of them and then leaves with the empty one that is on the bedside table- barely untouched two times out of three. Lucas asked him why he never stays, to which he had shrugged and said, /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What good am I gonna do staying there, man? She's alive, I'm not gonna sit and mourn when I can do something to make sure she's healthy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The visits from the two youngest warriors had become less frequent after that, but more affectionate, more positive. Stella talked about the new Dramaquiran vocabulary she had learnt or about the project she, Kekoa and her brother Marco were working on. Lucas talked about the people they had helped that day, and about the constellations he had recognized last night. Haruki would have never guessed that Lucas loved stars. Then again, he thinks after a moment, they all did attend the Hawking Institute, loving stars was a part of the job there. That is where the strings started to connect./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"It is day twenty when Rei is able to keep her eyes open for more than an hour and starts talking again. Her voice is hoarse and low, more often than not she loses track of her thoughts and fiddles with the sheets, her expression dark. Haruki sees her fight to keep a calm attitude, trying to talk about stupid things just to keep her mind occupied. They do not talk about the weather, they are not emthat/em desperate./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"It is day twenty-five when they move Rei back to her room and Haruki feels comfortable enough to leave her alone while awake and go take a shower, because according to Stella, the Tolorna could have tracked them down just by following the smell./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"But when he comes back, Rei is not alone. She is sitting as straight as she can on the bed, hands gripping the blanket with her knuckles white for the strength, face distorted in an angry expression. Logan stands in front of him, chin high and hands resting by his sides./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Say that again, Logan." Rei spits, voice trembling. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Logan looks down at him with a neutral face and holds a dagger between his fingers- Rei's dagger./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We're removing you from the Sabers of Truth." he says and lowers his hand. "You are in no condition to fight at the moment, so we decided that-"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""So you decided that throwing me out like... like some kind of emdog/em was the right thing to do, didn't you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei's voice raises by an octave, her tone becoming more desperate, angrier. She leans forward, and Haruki sees the way her back hunches, and she looks so fragile, so breakable./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Logan mutters something that sounds like "dog" under his breath but manages to keep his coolness. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You know the reasons are not that simple, Rei. It should be easy, however, to understand."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Then explain it to me again, because it seems obvious that I'm not clever enough to get it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei tries to move on the bed, but her leg does not allow her to move as freely as she wishes, and she just ends up dragging himself, pulling at the sheets that pool around her waist. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I can still be useful. I- I know the formations, I can talk with the people of the planets we free from the Toltora; I can-"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Rei, know your place. The game we're playing is far more important than the pride of a single soldier." Logan calls, and Rei shuts up immediately. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The rebel's voice is hard and does not allow replies when he talks, and Haruki is sure that it is not the first time he talks like that to Rei./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He watches helplessly as Rei's eyes fill with unshed tears, too prideful to let them out, yet too ashamed to keep them in. Her hands fist the bed sheets so hard that Haruki fears she might tear them, Rei fights to keep her composure but the thoughts running through her head are clear./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"You are no diplomat, you aren't able to keep your cool when there's a discussion. You are a fighter. A soldier. The only language that you know is the one you speak with your weapons./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"You had one job to do. You couldn't keep your position as a warrior nor as a leader of the Cosmos Counsel, and now that you had found a place you could call home you ruined it. You brought this on yourself with your own hands. You are useless without your blade, you are useless without a leg. You can't save the universe and you've lost your possibility to try./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Truth or death." Rei murmurs and raises his head to look right into Logan's eyes with his wet ones. "Isn't that the Sabers' code? I didn't find any truth nor death. What remains to me now is that you're kicking me out?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Logan sighs, and hands her the dagger. Rei does not take it, and the rebel leaves it on the mattress by her hand. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You're still breathing, some are not so lucky." he says, and turns away walking to the door. "Hold on to that, and one day we'll be victorious."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It won't be a victory to call mine!" Rei spits, and Logan stops./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Accept your body and the way it has changed, Rei." he murmurs, and the door opens in front of him. "It'll be your first step towards your recovery."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The leader of the Sabers walks out of the room, and Haruki feels the silence weighting on his chest, an unpleasant squeeze around his throat./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei's head hangs low, her shoulders trembling and teeth sinking on her lower lip. Haruki takes a couple steps forward and looks at her with an uncertain expression, hands raised as if he was approaching a scared animal./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Rei..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Shut up." Rei interrupts him, voice hoarse and low, and Haruki obeys. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She lays down and turns her back on him, face sunk in the pillow. Haruki knows the code; he turns off the lights and lays down next to Rei, chest against her back and arm around her waist. Rei grips his hand hard and lets her shoulders shake./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki wakes up in the middle of the night at the noise of something shattering and hitting the ground. It takes him a few seconds to realize that the mattress next to him is empty, and a few more seconds to realize that the something on the ground of the bathroom is Rei, panting and with tiny pieces of what looks like glass under her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""R-Rei!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki jumps out of bed and his vision turns black for a second, just the time to get his balance back and he is running towards Rei, kneeling next to her. He quickly glances at the glass on the ground and realizes that it is the mirror in shatters, and when he sees blood on Rei's palms and pants he feels his breath stop./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What happened Rei, how did you even end up here…" he whispers and reaches for Rei's arm just to have his hands shoved aside, her blue eyes burning. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Don't. Touch. Me." she hisses, and tries to drag herself away from Haruki, the pieces of the mirror digging deep into the palms of her hands./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You're injured. Your hands…" Shiro mutters, and Rei laughs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She laughs, a high-pitched and ugly sound, that Haruki has never heard before. It is a sound that has blood freeze in his veins, and hair standing over his skin./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""My hands are injured!" Rei howls, and her face is the face of a deranged woman, eyes big and pupils devouring the blue of her irises. "I'm missing a leg, but my hands are injured. How ironic, isn't it? Everyone in this fucking ship acts like I'm...emdead/em or something, but then something so trivial happens and emoh/em, the leg is forgotten!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You're delirious." Haruki tries to reason and tries to move closer, but Rei holds a piece of the mirror bigger than the others, her sides sharp and digging into her palm. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I told you to leave me alone! Don't come any closer or I will drag this against my veins!" she screams, and Haruki knows that other people will hear, other people will ask, why was Rei screaming, is she okay, has she lost her head? He does not want that to happen./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I just want to help you." he says slowly, sitting at the entry of the bathroom with his legs crossed. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei looks at him indignantly and his nostrils flare with repressed desperation. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""How? How can you help me? Can you give me my leg back?" she asks, and her voice breaks. "Can you convince Logan to accept me back into the Sabers? Can you make me stop being so fucking useless all the time?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki does not talk, and Rei breaks slowly in front of him. The soul dies a fast death, but Rei's body is being destroyed almost as quickly, in a weak attempt at self-destruction that shreds her into tiny, tiny pieces, until there are too many to put back together./spanspan style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;" /spanspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei's hands lose strength and the shard of glass falls. They scramble across the floor, dirtying it with blood and scattering the glass everywhere, and a sob escapes her parted lips. Her shoulders shake violently as her eyes gush river-like tears. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I did what Logan told me to. I looked into the emfucking/em mirror and looked at my body, at my emfucking/em leg that is not where it's supposed to be even though it feels like it is and it just…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Her voice cracks and Haruki watches helpless as Rei slams a bloodied fist down onto the ground, in the empty space left by her missing leg./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It hurts." she hisses through choked sobs and punches the ground once again. "It hurts so fucking much and there's nothing there where it hurts. There's nothing."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Ah, Haruki knows this sensation. He knows the flashes of white pain behind his eyes when he tries to sleep, he knows the sudden burning and the feeling of something twisting and breaking- something that is not there anymore. He remembers the first nights, waking up between fever-induced nightmares with his whole body covered in cold sweat and the pain running down his missing arm, the fingers twitching, the skin prickling, he remembers reaching with his hand and grabbing air. Haruki knows better than anyone in there, and Rei knows that he knows, and lets Haruki watch her falling and failing. But Haruki knows better than that. He knows himself, and he knows Rei, which is why he scoots closer and raises a hand for Rei to grab, a tiny, sad smile on his mouth./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You are strong, Rei." he whispers, and Rei raises her head sniffing, her eyes bloodshot and wet. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm useless as of now." she sputters, and her hurt hands twitch on the ground./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You're not, you're just human." Haruki replies, and then his smile becomes a little bit more honest, brighter. "Well, for about fifty percent human, I guess? It's still an important percentage, don't you think?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei actually snorts at that, a chuckle coming past her trembling lips; but her eyes are still too wet, the shivering of her body too intense. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Yeah, it's not like my Toltora genes helped me that much, is it?" she murmurs bitterly. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki moves yet closer and his fingers linger over Rei's cheek, waiting for her to move away, to reject him again. She does not. Instead, Rei rests her cheek against Haruki's palm and sniffs, looking at him with wet eyes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You are strong, Haruki." she whispers, and Haruki gently grazes her cheekbone with the flat of his thumb, the other fingers deep in Rei's unkempt hair. "I'm not strong." she replies, voice soft. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm just... accustomed. I went through it before, and I know what it feels like to be alone in this kind of... experience. I won't let you go through this alone, Rei. It's a promise."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei looks at him and she looks exhausted, her eyes lost somewhere. But she is here, the nightmares have let her go for the night, and her breathing is slowly evening, and the trembling of her body is now a consequence of the cold and not of anger, not of despair./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What would I do if you weren't here? "she whispers, and Haruki smiles. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You'd be dealing with three worried warriors and two worried Dramaquirans that wouldn't leave you alone." he says, and a tiny, tiny smile forms on Rei's face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki caresses her cheek once more, feeling the soft and warm skin under the tips of his fingers. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Can I take you back to bed and nurse those cuts?" he asks, and after a few seconds of indecision, Rei nods./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki is careful in his movements as he takes Rei between his arms and carries her back inside the bedroom. It is not easy, especially with the missing limb, but she doesn't talk. Rei is silent once again, face pressed against Haruki's chest and her wounded hands hidden against her own./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki puts him down on the bed and gently runs a hand through her messy hair, wincing a little. Rei needs a bath first thing in the morning, he decides./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'll fetch a first-aid kit, I'll be back soon." he says, and Rei quietly nods. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Be quick please." she murmurs. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei leans down and presses his lips against his forehead, the touch warm and lingering. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'll be right back." he breathes, and in a few steps, he is gone./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei is left alone with her thoughts, the white noise in her head is louder than ever, the quiet buzzing of the lamp turning into the background of every single movement, every breath. She feels panic close around his throat, its dark fingers digging into his skin and flesh, flashes of white and black in the back of her head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"In a second, she is back on the hangar -that damned hangar-, her back hits the metallic surface of something and that something falls onto her, and her leg is crushed, the bone breaks and there is blood, she is fading out, why is no one helping her where is everyone where where where—/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She can hear a voice muttering and muttering, saying, /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Take it off, take it off now." and her leg is itching and hurting, and it is only when his vision clears, and she sees Haruki's worried face that she realizes that the voice she hears is her own, and there are new tears running down her face, wetting the hands that Haruki put on her face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's okay, it's okay." Haruki whispers and caresses her cheek, feeling her tremble. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei looks at him with deranged eyes and gulps. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What took you so long?" she barks, and the tears will not stop, she feels so weak, so irremediably weak./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I know, I know, I'm sorry." Haruki replies, even though he has been awake for maybe a total of five minutes, but Rei does not need that. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Hesitantly, he moves closer, holds Rei's hip with one hand while the other rests against the hollow of her neck, and brushes his lips against Rei's. Her breathing is still erratic, still too fast, but it is slowing down, her heartbeat returning to her normal pace. The silence is almost deafening, and it scares her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei's fingers tug at his hair, keeping him close, one more second, one more lifetime. Haruki kisses her mouth once more, then her cheek, her jaw. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Can I take care of your wounds?" he asks against her skin, and Rei nods slightly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki opens the first-aid kit and, Rei's hand open in her lap, starts removing the tiny mirror pieces that dug into her skin with a pair of tweezers, Rei hissing and trying to pull away her hand, but failing because of Haruki's grasp. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Stay still." he tells her, and Rei shrugs, his other hand digging into the mattress./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"After he has removed all the glass shards from both of Rei's hands, Haruki takes a cloth and dampens it in the bathroom sink, cleaning off the blood from the warrior's palms. Rei looks at him, then at the shattered mirror and at its remains on the floor, shining under the artificial light like tiny stars. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""That's seven years of bad luck." she mutters under her breath and reclines her head with her face looking at the ceiling./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What was that?" Haruki asks, wrapping her hands in clean bandages. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei shakes her head, and when her hands are free, she tugs them against her chest, in a protective gesture that Haruki had never seen coming from her./spanspan style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;" /spanspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki looks at him and lowers the bandages, putting them back inside the box. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asks, and glances at Rei's foot, at the blood-dirtied hem of her pants. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei shifts and glances away and reaches for the first-aid kit. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I can do it by myself." she mutters./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki's hands hold her wrists, his grip delicate but strong, decisive. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Rei," he calls, and Rei does not look up. "Rei, baby, look at me please."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei does look at him this time, and her eyes are full of emotions, twirling and shaking. Haruki taps his fingers against her thigh, and then leans up to press together her lips in a reassuring kiss. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's nothing I haven't already seen, baby, you know that." he whispers, and Rei sighs against her mouth, arms circling Haruki's neck. Haruki then holds Rei's hips in his hands and kisses her again, pressing their mouths together a little bit harder, tarrying a little bit longer. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Don't hide from me, Rei, you have no reason to." he mutters, and Rei holds him closer, pressing Haruki's head against his neck. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It wasn't supposed to happen." she starts, and Haruki hears his heartbeat speeding up again. "I'm a part of Cosmos Counsel, I know my way around with weapons and defeating enemies. But this... this, is not... there's no glory in it, it's shameful, it's…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's something that should never happen to anyone." Haruki interrupts her and moves away to hold Rei's face between his hands. "There's nothing shameful in being hurt, Rei. We're at war. People is injured, people are killed, and I don't even want to think about that possibility."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei is silent, gazing right into his eyes, and Haruki sees the universe being devoured by a black hole./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""If you were to die, I wouldn't be able to go on." he says, and Haruki's grip tightens. "I'm not going to leave you behind." he whispers, and Rei's smile is sad, bitter, because she has already been left behind twice; two times she has been robbed of Haruki's presence, and two times she has taken him back. What are the chances of it happening a third time?/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"She does not give a voice to those thoughts; she keeps them inside his heart, safe and protected from the outside world, because to speak them out loud would make them more real, more tangible. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I love you." she whispers instead, voice hoarse and soft. Haruki kisses her on the mouth and it is warm, soft and comforting. Rei feels its warmth spread from her lips to the rest of her body, to her fingertips and to her toes, until her whole body is enveloped by Haruki's presence./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I love you too," she hears him whisper against his lips, and Rei squeezes her eyes shut. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I know you do." she whispers back./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki kisses her once again and then helps her slip out of her bloodied clothes; the shirt is the first to go, then her pants. Haruki's movements are always slow when he undresses Rei, a devotion and admiration in his gestures, in his eyes, that has Rei flush even though there is nothing sexual in what Haruki is doing, not this time. But it feels intimate- it emis/emintimate. With every piece of clothing, Rei gives up a little of her fears, of her worries and shames. Once Haruki looks up at her, pants rolled up into a ball in his hands, Rei is naked in more than one way, emotions displayed on her face and position. She wants to cover herself up, but Haruki stops her with a hand cupped around her cheek. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki smiles from his position on the floor, hands gently wrapping around Rei's ankle and Rei gasps, feeling her body burning up. Then Haruki moves his gaze and checks if she is hurt, fingers travelling down the pale skin of her leg, he presses a kiss against her knee and take the tweezers back. Rei muffles a whine by biting her lower lip./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""The pain will go away." Haruki whispers while wrapping her foot in white bandages, and Rei looks at him. "It will take a while, but it'll be more bearable, especially if you get a prosthetic. We won't leave you alone. emI/em won't leave you alone."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"And then he presses his lips on Rei's ankle, then her knee, her thigh. Each kiss brings him a little closer, and each inch brings Rei closer to the edge./spanspan style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;" /spanspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"If she does not move now, she feels like she will fall. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;" "You're beautiful," she hears him say, and her eyes become glassy, fingers running from Haruki's hair to his cheek, leaning down to kiss him again and again, until she is out of breath and Haruki's hands hold his hips, their chests touching./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Hold me tight and don't let me go tonight." Rei breathes against his mouth, and Haruki caresses her hair, pushing back the sweaty bangs from his face. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Tonight, and always." he whispers against her jaw./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"And he does hold her. He holds Rei until she is deep asleep, arms tucked against her chest and head resting on Haruki's biceps. Haruki looks at the dark shadows under her eyes, and she looks honestly exhausted even in her sleep. Taunted by the demons Haruki knows well, the same demons who followed him in the dark corridor from his cell to the Pit and whispered, "Today is the day you are gonna die."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He had believed them, at a certain point. He had stopped trying to send the demons away, because they always found a way in. You cannot destroy something that is part of you, that lives deep under your skin and bones, that eats you from the inside. It is a never-ending fight that you cannot win alone./spanspan style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;" /spanspan style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"But alone, that Rei is not, and Haruki swears on his own heart that she will never be./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"When morning comes, Haruki untangles himself from Rei's grasp, caressing her hair when she whines for the sudden lack of warmth. Rei hums and turns on the other side, hands grasping the pillow under her head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki smiles and stretches, grabbing some clean clothes and walking to the bathroom; he glances at the dirty floor for just a few seconds, then he grabs a cloth and wets it, cleaning the dried blood splotches and throwing away the broken glass./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"When he walks out, showered and shaved, Rei is still sleeping, her mouth slightly open and disheveled hair falling over her eyes. Haruki gently moves them and leans to kiss her on the temple, before walking out to grab something to eat./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The kitchen is already crowded, Stella and Lucas spread across the table still with sleepy eyes, Hunk working his magic in the kitchen while Ashling and Conan talk in a corner. She is wearing a formal dress, there is probably some kind of meeting. Haruki kind of feels sorry for detaching himself from the others, but then they see him and they all greet him cheerfully, making him feel better./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Man, you're still alive!" Lucas exclaims, while Stella just nods and rubs at her eyes, squinting. "We were starting to think that Rei had finally snapped and committed a homicide."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Rei would never kill Haruki, Lucas." Stella replies, giving Lucas a tired eye roll, and at Lucas's dramatic -and loud- "Why is that?!" she cringes. "One, Haruki's not a half, no, even a tenth as annoying as you. Two, Rei loves Haruki to death, and three, she doesn't spend all of their time together bickering like kids as when she's with you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Is this some sort of offense?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""No Lucas, it's facts."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Guys." Haruki calls, smiling fondly and their small bickering, and the two stop, looking at him with small pouts on their faces./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Oh, thank you Haruki, they've been at that since they woke up." Kekoa says from behind the counter, turning around. "Which isn't long, by the way, but it's still tiring."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Try pulling an all-nighter to decode the encrypted Tolorna files and then I'll show you what's tiring." Stella mutters, and Kekoa singsongs "I heard you~!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki sighs and sits next to Lucas, crossing his arms over the table. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm sorry for leaving you alone, guys." he says as Ashling and Conan approach. "I feel like I'm being a terrible leader." To that, Stella's features softens, and she shakes her head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You're not, Haruki." she reassures him, and Lucas nods. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Stella is right." Ashling intervenes, smiling at him. "The number of allies is increasing each minute we spend talking, and it is thanks to our hard work if all of this is happening. As long as the Cosmos Counsel is not strictly needed, we won't have any problems."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""But still..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""No buts!" Lucas stops him, his green eyes shining of a dark light. "We're good Haruki, really. What we're doing now is not that different from before, really. Don't fill your head with more worries than it can hold, okay buddy?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'll try." Haruki sighs. Kekoa hums and sends him a glance, turning something in the closest thing to a pan he had found. "I... heard Rei screaming last night." he says in a quiet voice, and everybody else in the room freezes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki's smile is bitter as he slowly nods, and Lucas turns his head towards him. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""How is she?" he asks, his voice thick with concern./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki sighs and his smile softens a little. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""She's still... dealing with it. Logan removed her from the Sabers and Rei's dealing with phantom pain."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Phantom pain? What is that?" Conan asks, and Ashling inhales, worried. "Is it something dangerous? Will she be fine?" she asks, and Haruki nods. "Phantom pain is something you usually experience when you lose a part of your body... like a limb, or a finger." he explains, and Ashling pales, her eyes wide. "Even though you know that the limb is missing, you feel like it's still there. It might pulse or itch or hurt. It's really unpleasant."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I see..." Ashling brings her hands to her chest and looks down, pensive. Her long pink hair flutter when she turns to the others, her brows furrowed. "Is there a cure for this... phantom pain?" she asks then./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki shrugs. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""For me, the prosthetic helped. But it really depends on the person, I guess." he says scratching his head. "Anyway, I think it's still too early for a prosthetic. She's still healing and forcing it would only make it worse."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Everyone nods, and Conan proposes to start working on a prosthetic project. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Just so that it's ready when she is." he says as explanation, and no one seems to be against it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Kekoa taps on Haruki's shoulder, and when he turns towards him, the man grins. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I think I've got something that could make both Rei and you feel better." he says and places a tray between Haruki's hands./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki looks down and blinks, his tired brain taking a little too long to process. When he does though, his eyes open wide and he looks at Kekoa in disbelief, unable to find the voice to speak./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Kekoa snickers and nods, placing his hands on his hips. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We went to the space mall yesterday, while you were with Rei." he explains, and the other warriors and the Dramaquirans grin at Haruki's face. "It's all edible, don't worry. These two acted as guinea pigs for me!" and Kekoa ruffles Lucas and Stella's hair, who squawk in discontentment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki blinks again and breathes through his nose, his eyes darting from the bowls on the tray to the warriors. "Shouldn't the cook try and see if it's good, though?" he barely manages to murmur. Lucas scoffs and Kekoa raises an eyebrow with a smug expression on his face. "We don't want the cook to die, do we?" he asks. Haruki shakes his head and finally sets his eyes on the food./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"There is rice in the bowls. Like, not some rice-like slop, but actual, white and earthen rice. He does not even remember the last time he ate something that was not slop or some alien thing that he was served while in the Tolorna prison, does not even remember the taste. Now there it is, right in front of his eyes. Just a spoon away from him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Uh-oh, I think he's about to cry." Stella whispers, and Kekoa smiles. "We've bought more food at the mall, and there's still some rice left. Just ask if you want more later."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""And tell Rei to call every now and then!" Lance barks, pouting. "It's okay if she doesn't want us in her room, but just tell us she's alive, man! And if she tells you that she doesn't have a phone, kick her butt as hard as you can for me. We have emgoddamned/em holograms!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki hums. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 15pt 0.5in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Yeah, I will." he says, and then a big, blinding smile cuts his face as he looks at the others. "Thank you, guys."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The others all smile back at him, and Stella coughs, embarrassed. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Just go to Rei, she's probably gonna wake up soon." she says, and Haruki knows that she is not wrong; which is why he leaves them, walking to his -and Rei's. Their? - room with the tray between his hands./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"When he closes the door with the heel of his foot, Rei hums and turns her head, blinking at the soft artificial light that turned on automatically when Haruki got in and raising an arm to his face. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What time is it?" she asks slowly, her voice still raspy and low for the sleep./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Breakfast time." Haruki says, and Rei punctually groans, covering her eyes with the back of her hand. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm not hungry." she whines, and Haruki chuckles. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""It's not slop, it's... no wait, I'm gonna ruin the surprise like this. Keep your eyes closed. Can you sit by yourself?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I can try." and Rei slowly moves into a sitting position, wincing a little when she presses with her wounded hands on the mattress. "So, what is it? Some kind of alien seafood or what?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki laughs and sits on the bed next to her, caressing her cheek and then the edges of her closed eyes. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Not really, no. But you'll find out soon."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei snorts and crosses his arms over her chest. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""If I manage to eat before I get old, that is."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Yeah, yeah, just shut up and open your mouth."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki's smile does not disappear as he digs a spoon into a bowl and takes a nice part of the rice, and then taps said spoon against a corner of Rei's mouth. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""P-002 approaching the hangar, requesting to open up."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Maybe he had not thought those words enough because it sounded really mischievous, but it made Rei's face become bright red -and she does open her mouth after that. Haruki kisses her quickly, and before Rei can move forward and look for another kiss he is quick to push the spoon between her parted lips./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Try to guess what it is." he tells her as Rei munches. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Then the ex-warrior gasps with her mouth still half full and opens her eyes wide, looking at Haruki in disbelief. "Rice!" she says, munching some more and gulping, and her reaction is so cute, so pure, that it makes Haruki chuckle and lean forward to kiss Rei again, fingers brushing against her temples and cheekbones. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""You have to thank the others for this." he says, and Rei's smile is bright and surprised, and Haruki thinks he has never seen her look so happy in so long./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei extends her arms and takes the rice bowl, eating like she has not touched food for months, making small sounds every now and then. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""This is so good." she hums, her cheeks full. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki smiles and takes his bowl as well, but he eats slowly, wanting the moment to last./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"The flavor is... nostalgic, rich. Haruki eats one spoonful after the other, saving the taste on his tongue as much as possible. For the first time after a long time, even before he is done eating he feels full. He had missed earthen food so much, spending day after day in the Tolorna prison, thinking that he would never get to taste it again, and then Counsel of Cosmos and the main ship and the coalition had happened./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He had hoped at first, of course, had naively expected the war to end quickly, that he and the other warriors were the missing piece, the key to everything. But the days had turned into weeks, and then into months, and before he knew it he was twenty-eight and Rei was turning twenty-five. Before he knew it, he had lost faith in a return to Earth, but never had felt he closer to his planet yet still so far away./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Haruki?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"He looks up and sees Rei's worried face, with her hair still in different directions and a few grains of rice next to her mouth. She looks cute, he thinks, and tries to smile. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What is it?" he asks weakly, his voice trembling./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei raises a hand and caresses his cheek, wiping something wet with the pad of his thumb. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Why are you crying?" she whispers and her forehead crinkles in worry./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""A-ah..." Haruki laughs and shakes his head, raising a hand to his face and hiding behind his fingers. "It's nothing, something... must've got in my eye, shit, I don't know what is going on all of a sudden..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei sighs and moves the bowls aside -hers is already empty, Haruki's still half full-, raising her arms and tugging at Haruki to make him lie down on him. Haruki sniffs and hides his face against Rei's chest as she strokes his hair, feeling like he is a small child again after his grandpa's funeral. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm sorry." he says, and Rei starts caressing his hair. "I just... miss Earth I guess. It had been so long since..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""No, I understand, or at least I try to." Rei hides her mouth against Haruki's forehead, his lips warm. "I think we all do, somehow. We all have something on Earth that we want back, be it family or a job or..."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Her voice dies, and Haruki raises his head, kissing her slowly on the mouth. Rei's hand slides from his hair to his neck, the other against her cheek. The kiss is messy but sweet, their noses bumping and teeth clattering, hands looking for other hands and hearts beating together./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Don't think about sad things." Haruki whispers against Rei's mouth, and the latter shakes her head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm not." she says and holds him closer a while longer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki caresses her chest and then her hip, drawing with the tip of his fingers on the pale skin, and he feels safe in Rei's hold, safer than he ever did, safer than inside his ship's cockpit. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I love you so much." he murmurs, and Rei's lips slide across his forehead. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I love you too, Haruki. I always will."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki smiles at his own name and closes his eyes for a few seconds, then sits up and Rei looks at him with curiosity. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""I think it's time for you to take a bath. You kind of stink." he says smiling, and Rei snorts and shakes her head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Way to ruin the moment." she replies sarcastically, and Haruki's laugh rumbles in his chest. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""What if I come in with you? Will I be forgiven?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Maybe. I'm not sure yet."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""We'll see then."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Rei sits on the bed on her own and it takes him a while to turn, concentration and pain reflecting in her eyes as she instinctively tries to move her missing leg. Haruki looks at her and at her every movement, but he does not try to help Rei, not without her asking. He knows her, and he knows she does not want people to pity him. So, he waits, with the softest expression he can manage and eyes full of love./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"And then Rei raises her head and looks at him, then looks away and fiddles with the sheets under her hands. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;""Will you help me, please?" she asks timidly, and she looks at the bandages that are now dark where the blood dried, then at the now clean bathroom floor./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;"Haruki's smile grows bigger and moves closer to pick him up. Rei's arms wrap around his neck and a timid smile forms on the ex-councilwoman's face. Haruki kisses her and everything comes back into place./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 32px;"span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: #2a2a2a;" /span/p 


End file.
